Antwuan Lawrence's uniform displays an old RecycleForce logo, much to the marketing director's dismay. But to Lawrence, the uniform is a symbol of pride. "When I come to work everyday, I have something to look forward to," he said. "And my family looks at me differently."

The workers at Indy's RecycleForce
understand the value of discarded objects.

Society cast them off, too
— into the criminal justice system. After squaring up with the law, they
all need a second shot — to be redeemed from frameworks in which the
craziest realities somehow make sense. Realities in which selling drugs on the
streets at 12 years old evolves into larger criminal operations, which can
include murder, battery or rape. Or realities in which one ditches one's kids
or sells one's body to feed addiction.

One of RecycleForce's top
workers found himself homeless upon his release from prison, facing fees of $84
a week so Marion
County Community Corrections could GPS monitor him under a downtown bridge
along the interstate and an additional $40-$60 in outsourced, court-ordered
counseling and polygraph fees. As a registered sex offender, Andrew King's
options to find employment or housing were even more limited than other
ex-offenders.

"It was very
difficult," King recalled in a recent interview. "I was homeless
living under a bridge, I couldn't figure out what to do. I applied to be a
dishwasher, but they wouldn't hire me. I would have been the best dishwasher
ever."

But he did
have a woman at community corrections who took an interest in his case.

She helped connect him with the
Veterans
Affairs' housing services and an interview at RecycleForce, a local reclamation
firm that has guided hundreds of ex-offenders' re-entry process.

With success after success
notched to its credit, the firm has grown from two employees in 2006 to employ
16 full-time staff and around 50 ex-offenders cycling through its training programs
on a given week. The program is designed to train them for the private-sector
workforce and help them overcome any number obstacles that may prevent
successful re-integration into society.

RecycleForce has grown steadily
more efficient in its process and effective at identifying new markets. Its
team has recycled more than 11 million pounds of materials since its inception.
More than 200 ex-offenders have found permanent, unsubsidized employment
through RecycleForce.

Calvin Houston helps each ex-offender size up the challenges threatening successful reintegration into society and helps connect them with services necessary to surmount the obstacles. He also builds relationships with outside employers looking to hire trained workers from the RecycleForce team.

Becoming
a person, not a number

As Calvin
Houston, the firm's job development director, puts it, RecycleForce "is
the only place in the whole state where you're more accepted if you have a
criminal past."

He's had his own
"brushes" with the law, which, when he deals with people emerging
from the criminal justice system, adds to his credibility.

Houston manages the flow of
services for all new clients, including the arrangement of a host of various
training sessions, personal development, housing, probation negotiations and transportation
assistance.

"We identify their
barriers and eliminate them the best we can," Houston said during an
interview in his office.

The goal
is that after four months of the program, they're economically viable, set with
a plan to handle their obligations to the courts, their children, themselves
and society.

Houston estimated that as many
as three-quarters of program participants have never held a straight job and
none of them have been back in (relatively) free society for more than 180
days.

The classes cycle through
phased training to affect basic behavior modifications to shed the habits they
used to survive incarceration (such as dragging one's feet when approaching
someone else from behind to make them aware of your presence). Instead workers focus
on solidifying habits that coincide with success in the workplace such as
arriving to work and returning from break on time and minimizing personal calls
on the job.

The Circle is a special daily ritual making physical and emotional progress through the program.

How could you let them out?

"People are asking
constantly what do we do," RecycleForce President Gregg Keesling said in a
February interview.

"I think as much as
anything we're just believing in people and empowering them." The public
often makes the mistake of believing that RecycleForce is responsible for the
release of people with such colorful criminal pasts, Keesling said.

"We
don't bring them out," he said. " ... These people can be walking
around and you wouldn't know ... it's better for people to be engaged in work and
productive activities — especially when they're early release."

RecycleForce aims for 60-70
percent of its revenue to be generated by the sale of recycled material,
according a report on nonprofit social enterprise funding models by Green
For All YELL Working Group.

In the fiscal year ending June
2010, the firm hit that goal, reporting that sales of recycled material
supplied nearly $400,000, or 60 percent of its income.

Still,
grants and donations are critical as proven by the pay cuts coming due to a
national Catholic group's recent refusal to honor the final $20,000 payment of
a $40,000 Catholic
Campaign for Human Development grant agreement to RecycleForce. The group
cited AmeriCorps' offering of free condoms to RecycleForce workers, who face
higher-than-average risk for HIV, STDs and Hepatitis due to incarceration. [See
sidebar.]

The U.S. Department of Labor,
however, recently awarded a $5.5 million grant to track the successful re-entry
of RecyleForce members compared to a control group. Child support compliance,
reducing recidivism and job placement are major parameters of what officials
will measure.

RecycleForce
will host 300 workers throughout the course of the grant. Two Christian
ministries will also participate, NewLife Ministries, a home rehab service, and
Changed Life, which is engaged in enterprises such small engine repair and
manufacturing of items such as disposable communion cups. Each of those groups
will take about 100 ex-offenders a piece. Another 500 study volunteers will be
placed in the control group to test ex-offenders progress without additional
support services.

The first
class, which started in November, will graduate on March 16. One member already
has a job. About eight new team members will start each week as the classes
cycle through. Six people have already found permanent, full-time, unsubsidized
employment.

"My goal is to make
relationships with employers willing to give people a second chance,"
Houston said."I think we're
giving them a great skill set for a warehouse professional."

In
addition to forklift certification, team members can tackle certifications in
the safe handling of hazardous materials, warehouse safety, and prevention of
sexual harassment. Some examples of advancement include people earning
commercial drivers' licenses, learning to read and entering a welding
apprenticeship.

"I know who's got baby
mamma drama, who's got a bus pass, who's gonna show up on time," Houston
said. "When an employer calls, I want to give them the best I've got
— I want to keep the line of communication open so when they call again,
the employer won't have a problem trusting that I'm going to send him a great
guy."